1964 Massachusetts gubernatorial election
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The 1964 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1964. Incumbent Governor Endicott Peabody ran for re-election, but was defeated by then-Lieutenant Governor Francis X. Bellotti in the Democratic Party primary. Bellotti went on to lose the general election to former Governor John Volpe.[1]
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November 3, 1964
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Volpe: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Bellotti: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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The race between Volpe and Bellotti was the first time in Massachusetts history that the two major parties backed sons of Italian immigrants for governor.[2]
This was the final election held before the governor's term of office was extended from two to four years.
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Francis Bellotti, lieutenant governor
- Pasquale Caggiano, former state representative from Lynn and perennial candidate
- John J. Droney, Middlesex County district attorney
- Endicott Peabody, incumbent governor
Declined
- Robert F. Kennedy, U.S. attorney general and brother of John F. Kennedy (ran for U.S. Senate in New York)
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Francis X. Bellotti | 363,675 | 49.61% | |
| Democratic | Endicott Peabody (incumbent) | 336,780 | 45.94% | |
| Democratic | John J. Droney | 27,357 | 3.73% | |
| Democratic | Pasquale Caggiano | 5,250 | 0.72% | |
| Total votes | 733,062 | 100.00% | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
- John Volpe, former governor
Defeated at convention
- Philip A. Graham, state senator from Hamilton and Senate minority leader[4]
- Francis W. Perry, state representative from Duxbury and nominee for lieutenant governor in 1962[4]
Withdrew
- Edward Brooke, attorney general of Massachusetts (withdrew ahead of convention; ran for re-election)[4]
Results
Volpe ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
General election
Candidates
- Francis Bellotti, lieutenant governor (Democratic)
- John Volpe, former governor (Republican)
- Francis A. Votano (Socialist Labor)
- Guy S. Williams (Prohibition)
Results
Volpe defeated Bellotti by less than 25,000 votes. Volpe's victory came in a year in which Democrats gained seats in the United States House of Representatives and Senate and Lyndon Johnson won the presidential election in a landslide.[5]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John A. Volpe | 1,176,462 | 50.27% | ||
| Democratic | Francis X. Bellotti | 1,153,416 | 49.29% | ||
| Socialist Labor | Francis A. Votano | 6,273 | 0.27% | ||
| Prohibition | Guy S. Williams | 3,713 | 0.16% | ||
| Write-in | All others | 266 | 0.01% | ||
Results by county
| County | John Volpe Republican |
Francis Bellotti Democratic |
All others | Margin | Total votes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Barnstable | 24,007 | 67.9% | 11,228 | 31.8% | 116 | 0.4% | 12,779 | 36.1% | 35,351 |
| Berkshire | 36,650 | 57.7% | 26,475 | 41.7% | 423 | 0.7% | 10,175 | 16.0% | 63,548 |
| Bristol | 73,560 | 39.5% | 111,818 | 60.1% | 705 | 0.4% | -38,258 | -20.6% | 186,083 |
| Dukes | 1,894 | 59.4% | 1,285 | 40.3% | 11 | 0.4% | 609 | 19.1% | 3,190 |
| Essex | 138,334 | 48.9% | 143,051 | 50.6% | 1,355 | 0.5% | -4,717 | -1.7% | 282,740 |
| Franklin | 13,302 | 51.9% | 12,198 | 47.6% | 128 | 0.5% | 1,104 | 4.3% | 25,628 |
| Hampden | 83,554 | 47.3% | 92,209 | 52.2% | 1,035 | 0.5% | -8,655 | -4.9% | 176,798 |
| Hampshire | 21,829 | 50.2% | 21,414 | 49.3% | 198 | 0.4% | 415 | 0.9% | 43,441 |
| Middlesex | 319,252 | 55.3% | 255,061 | 44.2% | 2,641 | 0.5% | 64,191 | 11.1% | 576,954 |
| Nantucket | 1,114 | 63.6% | 635 | 36.2% | 3 | 0.2% | 479 | 27.4% | 1,752 |
| Norfolk | 147,298 | 57.5% | 108,180 | 42.2% | 900 | 0.3% | 39,118 | 15.3% | 256,378 |
| Plymouth | 66,579 | 55.1% | 53,785 | 44.5% | 393 | 0.4% | 12,794 | 10.6% | 120,757 |
| Suffolk | 120,013 | 40.6% | 174,571 | 59.0% | 1,289 | 0.4% | -54,558 | -18.4% | 295,873 |
| Worcester | 129,076 | 47.5% | 141,506 | 52.1% | 1,052 | 0.4% | -12,430 | 25.2% | 271,634 |
| Totals | 1,176,462 | 50.3% | 1,153,416 | 49.3% | 10,252 | 0.4% | 12,046 | 1.0% | 2,340,130 |
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic